Faced with complex and challenging situations at work, emotion may even want to speak louder, but knowing how to remain calm and act rationally is essential. In this sense, emotional self -management is a great ally. This is one of the main pillars of emotional intelligence – a highly valued skill in the job market.
In general, self-management refers to the ability to manage one’s emotions. This is not a simple task, but there are ways to train this skill for you to apply it more easily in your routine.
This emotional maturity contributes both to their personal and professional development, as it provides a series of benefits to interpersonal relationships. Want to know more about the topic? In this article, you understand the concept of self-management and learn how to improve it. Check out!
What is emotional self-management?
As mentioned earlier, self-management is one of the pillars of emotional intelligence. The name already suggests: the concept is related to the ability to manage your own emotions, looking for better and positive ways to express them.
Self-management of emotions can happen in different ways depending on the situation you are going through. For example, in a conflict with a co-worker, your emotions are different from the ones you feel when you receive negative feedback . The environment is the same, but the emotions are different and will require different ways of dealing with them.
The more you develop this pillar of emotional intelligence, the more easily you will be able to identify an emotion. Thus, it will be easier to deal with this feeling and have a more appropriate response according to the environment and situation you are in.
We can say that self-management of emotions is about being able to manage automatic reactions to avoid impulsive speech and actions and moved only by emotion. Of course, it is not possible to control feelings. The idea here is to control how you communicate them to the world.
How to improve emotional self-management?
At first, it may seem difficult to put emotion self-management into practice. The good news is that there are some practices and tips that make this easier. Also, remember that this is a daily exercise. It is necessary to practice self-management constantly so that the process becomes more and more natural.
1 – Know your feelings
To know how to manage feelings, you need to be able to identify them. The first step towards this is to move on to naming and describing emotions as you feel them. Be it anger, be it sadness, hurt or happiness. Descriptions can be about how they feel to you: “feeling sick,” “shoulder tension,” “chest pain,” and so on.
By recognizing what they mean and how they affect your mood and behavior, it is possible to think of strategies to overcome this discomfort. Identifying emotions and understanding that they are fleeting (after all, symptoms pass over time) is a way to manage them instead of letting them be controlled by them.
2 – Practice mindfulness
Also known as “mindfulness,” mindfulness is a meditation technique that invites you to be fully in the present moment. The idea is to perceive oneself in the “here and now,” to connect with what is being experienced exactly at that moment. This is a great exercise to be more aware of your emotions.
In addition, studies show that long-term practice provides benefits such as reduced stress and anxiety. To practice, you can search for guided meditations on mobile apps or videos on YouTube.
3 – Take your time
How many times have you let your feelings get the best of you and impulsively vented your thoughts? This is never the best way out, especially in work environments. In this sense, time is an essential element when we talk about managing emotions.
Taking a deep breath and taking some time before manifesting may be the best choice in certain situations. This way, you let your emotions subside and you can process the situation more rationally and consciously, finding the best words to communicate with people. This will help you to avoid conflicts and react in a bad way in the face of routine adversities.
